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Grinning ear to ear, I hurried over and threw myself at him. He caught me and wrapped me in his arms, hugging me tight.
Sorcha released a sound of rage and sprinted in our direction. Buzz swooped in and caught her from behind, ending her attack before it started.
“I regret my treatment of you and beg for your forgiveness,” Callen rasped, burying his face in my hair. “I was so afraid of making a mistake.”
He’d arranged for my escape. Tried to save me. “You’re forgiven.”
He lowered to his knees and fit his hands on my waist, and my eyes widened. Determination glinted in the depthsof his irises. “I love you, Elle. I want you in my life, always. Need you.”
I blinked rapidly, one thought tripping over another. “What happened to you?” Seriously. What brought on this change in him?
“I decided to trust my connection to you, and suddenly the calm waters burst from their dam.” Awe coated his words. “The waves quieted the constant hum of rage. More power than I’ve ever experienced now flows within me. I almost canna contain it and yet nothing has felt more natural. For the first time in my life, I know who and what I am. Your man.”
Warmth spread through me. Blushing with pleasure, I nibbled on my bottom lip and gazed at him through the shield of my lashes. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“I should have trusted you sooner.” He stood and cupped my cheeks. “Stay in Scotland. Marry me. Let me make you my queen in every way. Doesn’t have to be today. I understand you’ll want to get to know me better. So tomorrow.” Pure, undiluted yearning consumed his features. “You didn’t escape when you had the chance. You stayed and fought for me, and I will do no less for you. I will fight for you every day of my life and find how to cure you of your allergy to dogs. I already have ideas.”
“Callen,” I rasped, overcome.
“You were always my firebrand,lass.”
My breath hitched, and I struggled to process the beauty of his confession. A proposal? From my husband. Who wasn’t really my husband. Even though he was. And he had his sights set on forever.
Another screech echoed around us. Sorcha hadn’t given up.
Callen ignored her. I did, too. “Yes,” I said. “Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.”
With another grin, he gifted me with a hard kiss.
“I hate you, Callen,” Sorcha screamed, struggling against Buzz’s hold. “I hate you with every fiber of my being!”
Callen ended the kiss with a sigh. “Go with your guards,” he told me. “I’ll see Sorcha to her prison and return to you. We’ll start our lives fresh.”
Though I didn’t want to leave him, I nodded, and all but skipped off tojoin Ponytail and Buzz, who passed his burden to Callen. What a wonderful day this had turned out to be!
“Not a scratch on her. She bears my mark and will be crowned your queen,” he called.
The pair didn’t say a word as they escorted me to the car. But once seated inside and on the road, Buzz stared at me for a long while, his eyes narrowed. I shifted, growing uncomfortable. What?
Ponytail noticed and nudged him with his elbow. “What’s wrong with you?”
“More than you know.” Motions swift and fluid, Buzz withdrew a gun and shot him in the heart with multiple rounds.
I gasped, hit by horror as crimson flowed from the wounds, soaking Ponytail’s shirt. He tried to speak, but only choking sounds escaped his mouth.
I lunged to catch him as he slumped forward, but Buzz tapped theweapon, shook his head, and tsked, keeping me in place. My knees quaked.
“Hello, darlin’,” Buzz said, and I knew. Tavish had soul-switched with him. He rested the gun on his lap, makingsure I had a view of it. “To my home,” he told Angus, the driver.
“Yes, sir, boss.” Angus cackled with laughter and bounced in the seat, nothing like his usual self. He’d been soul-switched, too. But with whom?
No wonder the berserker kings insisted on executing those who participated, willingly or not. The ability left others in constant danger.
“I knew Sorcha would betray me,” the wolf said. Though he couldn’t wolf-out in the body he currently occupied. Right? Only berserker out. Or would he force the change in the other man? “That’s why I merely used her as a distraction.”
I should have planned for this. “What’s the goal? Lure Callen into atrap and hurt me in front of him?”
“Something like that.” Buzz-Tavish gloated a moment. “Callentook my firebrand from me. Soon he will know the suffering I have endured ever since.”
